Wheeled Cargo Container

ABSTRACT

The wheeled cargo container for a pickup or other similar vehicle is a cargo box that will swing out to facilitate the loading of cargo. The design allows the weight of the box and the cargo placed into it to be carried by the shoulder of the hinge bracket and the wheel or wheels. The weight therefore is not a hanging weight as would be the case of a door on its hinges. When the wheeled cargo container is retracted to the out position it stops directly above the tailgate. This allows a person to load cargo without the need to bend over to reach into the bed of pickup or other similar vehicle. When the wheeled cargo container is retracted into the bed of a vehicle it is kept in place by a bumper that rests against the inside of the tailgate of the vehicle. The wheeled cargo container therefore cannot move while the vehicle is in motion. When the wheeled cargo container is retracted into the bed, approximately one half of the bed of the vehicle is available to load longer items that cannot fit inside of the wheeled cargo container.

The invention relates to a wheeled cargo container comprising of four walls a bottom that form an interior having an inner bottom. The wheeled cargo container also consists of a bracket, hinges, a bumper and wheels.

The wheeled cargo container will mount to a bracket that is installed on the inside of a bed of a pickup truck or similar vehicle. When mounted the wheeled cargo container will “swing” out and rest directly above the tailgate of said vehicle to facilitate the loading of cargo. The wheeled cargo container will then be able to be pushed easily back into the bed of said vehicle in a swinging motion, kind of like swinging a door open or closed.

In this context, the container refers to a container or a similar transport receptacle, which is of the type intended for transporting goods within a truck, pickup truck or similar vehicle. Reference throughout this specification to a container is to be taken as a reference to a wheeled cargo container of the type as described above.

Cargo and groceries loaded into the bed of a pickup truck or similar vehicle are normally not contained. Cargo therefore moves within the bed causing damage to the cargo. Cargo is difficult to retrieve from bed of pickup if it moves to the front of the pickup or similar vehicle.

If pickup truck or similar vehicle bed is covered, as is the case with many newer type pickup trucks, loading the cargo is even more difficult. One must stand at the rear of the vehicle to load groceries or other cargo. When the tailgate is placed down to facilitate loading of cargo a person would then need to reach OVER and past the tailgate to load cargo into the bed of vehicle. This task is difficult if a person has health issues such as pregnancy, elderly, handicap or for any number of other reasons.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The objectives of the invention are to provide a wheeled cargo container, by which the above-described problems can be solved.

The objects of the invention are achieved by a wheeled cargo container, which is characterized by what is disclosed herein.

The preferred embodiments of the invention are also disclosed herein.

The wheeled cargo container provides the advantage of allowing it to “swing” out to facilitate the loading of groceries or other cargo. When it is in the out position as shown in FIG. 1, the wheeled cargo container rests directly above the tailgate.

The advantage is that it will hold heavy goods in a container without needing a person to reach into the bed of the vehicle to load items or reach displaced items that have shifted during transport

The wheeled cargo container has another advantage because it does not require any packing material for supporting the goods in the container, thus eliminating the cost of packing materials.

The Wheeled Cargo Container advantageously comprises at least:

-   -   1. Cargo Box as shown in FIG. 1 A and FIG. 4 C.     -   2. Bracket that will mount to the pickup as shown in FIG. 2 A         and FIG. 3 A.     -   3. Hinge system that consists of parts of hinge affixed to the         box and parts of hinge affixed to the bracket as shown in FIG. 3         D and FIG. 4 B     -   4. Wheels as shown in FIG. 1 B and FIG. 4 D     -   5. Bumper as shown in FIG. 2 C and 4 A

The cargo box described in number paragraph 10 number 1 above is composed of materials that are durable and will carry a sufficient amount of weight in relation to the size of the container. These materials can be various metals, plastics or any other material as technology advances.

The hinges as described in paragraph 10 number 3 above when mated will allow the Wheeled Cargo Container to “swing” out in an arc and rest directly above the tailgate as shown in FIG. 1.

The bracket described in paragraph 10 number 2 above will be mounted inside of a pickup truck or similar vehicle as shown in FIGS. 3 A and B.

If pickup truck or similar vehicle have the wheel wells inside of the bed of the truck, this bracket will be offset to allow the cargo box to set parallel to the side of the bed when retracted to the in position.

The bracket is designed to prevent the cargo box from opening too wide thus preventing damage to the pickup truck that it is installed in as shown in FIG. 3 C.

The wheels described in paragraph 10 number 4 above will be of sufficient size and strength to carry any weight that could be loaded into the container as shown in FIG. 1 B and FIG. 4 D.

The larger wheel described in paragraph 10 number 4 and shown in FIGS. 1 A and 4 D will be mounted in a position that will allow said wheel to protrude past the rear of the cargo container. This wheel will act as a cushion or bumper for the side of the pickup or other similar vehicle while the wheeled cargo container is retracted into the bed.

The bumper described in paragraph 10 number 5 above will be made from rubber or other material strong enough to prevent any movement of the Wheeled Cargo Container while the tailgate is closed and the pickup or similar vehicle is in motion as shown in FIG. 2 C and FIG. 4 A. 

1. A wheeled cargo container to be used in a pickup or other similar vehicle, said device comprising of: A. Housing, said housing having a bottom wall, a back wall, a first side wall and a second side wall such that the top side of said housing is generally open and B. Wheels, each of said wheels being mounted by axles to one end of cargo container. The pickup bed wheeled container is further comprised of: C. Hinges mounted to the opposite end of said wheeled container as the wheels are mounted and D. A bracket mounted inside the bed of a pickup truck or similar vehicle will contain the mating section of the hinges that are mounted to the wheeled container and E. A bumper that will hold the wheeled cargo container in place when the tailgate is closed.
 2. The wheeled cargo container will “swing” from its hinge point in an approximate 90-degree arc. The closed position being approximately parallel with the side of the truck bed that incorporates the bracket and hinge assembly. The open position will be parallel and setting directly above the tailgate of said truck bed.
 3. The wheeled cargo container, while in its closed position, will allow the loading of items into the bed of the pickup truck that will not fit into the wheeled cargo container because of their length.
 4. The wheeled cargo container will allow persons who for health reasons (elderly, pregnancy, etc.) to now stow cargo in the cargo area that was unreachable to them before. It will facilitate the loading of cargo for ALL persons.
 5. The bracket referenced in claim 1-D will be designed to prevent the wheeled cargo container from opening too wide thus preventing damage to the pickup truck in which it has been installed.
 6. Hinges referenced in claim 1-C to be designed to allow the wheeled cargo container to be “lifted off” of the pins of the hinges thus no tools are requited to remove the wheeled cargo container.
 7. The wheeled cargo container, while placed into its closed position will be held in place by a bumper referenced in claim 1-E and said bumper will be attached to the end on the cargo container and resting against the inside of the tailgate. The wheeled cargo container therefore cannot move while the pickup or similar vehicle is in motion. 